Notable American Women, 1607–1950

Notable American Women, 1607–1950: A Biographical Dictionary is a three-volume biographical dictionary published in 1971. Its origins lay in 1957 when Radcliffe College librarians, archivists, and professors began researching the need for a version of the Dictionary of American Biography dedicated solely to women.[1]: xi 

Significance

Notable American Women was the first major modern reference book of women's biographies, although the genre was common in earlier eras, such as the 1804 A Biographical Dictionary of the Celebrated Women Of Every Age and Country by Matilda Betham.[1] It appeared when women's studies in U.S. universities had created great interest in understanding women's past.[2] Upon its publication it was viewed by scholars as a magnificent contribution to understanding the role of women in U.S. history.[3]

Writing of the changes in perspective on biography inspired by Notable American Women, 1607–1950 Susan Ware observed, "1,359 entries showed the range and depth of women’s contributions to American life, a pointed correction to women’s near-total exclusion from existing biographical dictionaries at the time and a dramatic spur to further research."[4]

Updates

Notable American Women: The Modern Period : a Biographical Dictionary updated the set for subjects who died between 1951 and 1976. The work for the fourth volume was a joint project of Radcliffe College and Harvard University Press funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, and edited by Barbara Sicherman and Carol Hurd Green.[2][5]

In 2004 volume 5 was issued: Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century.[6] The fifth volume in the series and was edited by historian Susan Ware who was assisted by Stacy Braukman. The women who were included had to have died prior to 2000. The volume differed from its predecessors because first ladies were not automatically included. Fame was not a factor, rather those chosen for inclusion had to have been influential or have contributed innovations or pioneering work in their area of expertise in their era.[7]

Bibliography
  • Notable American Women: a biographical dictionary completing the twentieth century. (2004). Ware, Susan (editor), Stacy Braukman, assistant editor. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press: Cambridge, Mass. ISBN 067401488X.

References
  1. James, Edward T.; James, Janet Wilson; Boyer, Paul S., eds. (1971). Notable American Women, 1607–1950; A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
  2. Sicherman, Barbara; Green, Carol Hurd, eds. (1980). Notable American Women: The Modern Period: A Biographical Dictionary. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-62733-8. OCLC 834112895.
  3. Miller, Roberta Balstad (January 1974). "Women and American history". Women's Studies. 2 (1): 105–113. doi:10.1080/00497878.1974.9978340.
  4. Ware, Susan (Winter 2010). "Writing Women's Lives: One Historian's Perspective". Journal of Interdisciplinary History. 40 (3): 413–435. doi:10.1162/jinh.2010.40.3.413. S2CID 145478898.
  5. Rothman, Sheila M. (September 1981). "Biography as Prescription". Reviews in American History. 9 (3): 415–421. doi:10.2307/2701975. ISSN 0048-7511. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  6. Ware, Susan; Braukman, Stacy Lorraine, eds. (2004). Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01488-6. OCLC 937332808.
  7. Farrell, Joelle (March 27, 2005). "A Woman of Notable Achievement: Susan Ware Helps Shape Women's History". Concord Monitor. Concord, New Hampshire. p. B1, B8. Retrieved 25 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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